Thomas Mayer is a manufacturer who is not that broadly known in the German scene yet as he is internationally. Especially because of his profound knowledge many people seek his advice. I selected his ‘big’ line preamplifier for a review.

The somewhat cryptic naming of the preamp is based on the vacuum tube it uses. Normally you see familiar tube names in amplifiers like the 300B, wherever it might have been produced. In preamps it is usually a variety of the ECC8x family. This isn’t necessarily a bad choice but there are also others. When you want to use NOS tubes –fans know why- then it is better to look for other types since all the stock of those went overseas. Still there are very high quality tubes. They only need to be brought back to life. But you can’t rely on old well known circuits from Tektronix and the like, but have to come up with your own.

The 10Y preamp under review is a single stage, single ended Class A circuit, completely hand crafted. Don’t think it is just another poem from a new tube amplifier manufacturer and rather turn to the TV program. You would be missing out on something. When I tell you all amps and preamps are built with the best possible components, you might reply, yes everybody claims that.

So let me try a different approach. With amplifiers from Thomas Mayer, the buyer has the option to choose among different components. Preferences can be taken into account, within reason of course. Also in terms of chassis layout. One option is the more traditional ‘landscape’ format, with all controls and connections on the top plate. The review preamp comes in the ‘portrait’ style with controls on the front and connections on the back. There is also the possibility to choose between various woods and colors of transformer covers and capacitors.

But more interesting is the choice between different transformers, capacitors and autoformers. Mayer built up a sufficient stock of the Japanese transformer manufacturer Tango, before they shut down their operation. These were among the best the market had to offer. Most often he uses transformers made by the company Lundahl, here there is the choice between copper or silver windings. Silver comes at a significant cost increase. The same choice is available for input transformers, which can be included optionally. These can be used for providing balanced inputs which is a standard in professional equipment.